Summer's End
by See Jane Write
Summary: After getting into an argument with Buffy in Italy, Dawn runs away and ends up in Playa Linda. My insane Buffy and Summerland crossover. Rating mostly to be safe and for some of Dawn's langauge. Chapter five up!
1. Chapter One

Summer's End

Disclaimer: _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ and all related characters and such are property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and Twentieth Century Fox. _Summerland_ and all its content are property of someone who definitely is not me

Author's Note: Yes, it's really insane because **I'm** really insane...I think the idea was in a dream I had...And also to note that I did not see the season finale of _Summerland_ since I was on vacation and the stupid VCR didn't record so sorry if this would contradict anything in there...Anyway, onto the insanity!

Chapter One

"Dawn, all I'm saying is you have a wonderful opportunity here!" Buffy Summers screeched at her younger sister Dawn. "You're smart enough to go to this better private school on full scholarship!" Buffy pointed out. "You can't just throw that all away!"

"It's not what I want Buffy!" Dawn yelled back with an intense amount of anger backing up her voice. "I never even wanted to come to Rome! I was perfectly happy with going to Los Angeles to see Angel, Wesley, and Cordelia. You know, the old gang."

"I thought you hated Cordelia," Buffy pointed out at the mention of the former Scooby. "Besides, she's dead now. And Wesley too for that matter."

"I did hate her, but that's not the point!" Dawn mumbled crossly. "And Wesley died? You never told me that!" she added as her voice reverted back to its more angry tone.

Buffy groaned. "Dawn, that's not the point. You could have a better high school year, which would make it easier to get into a really good college," she pointed out. "I'm not going to let you throw that all away."

"Buffy, it's not what I want! I'm sick of this life!" Dawn begged before anger completely took over her body. It controlled her like some sort of possessing demon and she could not even remember what she had done, but she knew it involved pushing her older sister back into some people walking in, leaving Buffy to talk and apologize while Dawn could run up to her room and get away.

Dawn let out a huge groan as she stormed past Andrew Wells, who was sitting in the living room of her apartment in Rome, and into her own small bedroom. While she was thankful that she and Buffy were able to afford an apartment with two bedrooms, she knew that she had to get out of there. And fast.

It would only be a matter of minutes before the blond Slayer would have reached their apartment from the lobby. Few precious minutes during which Dawn had to pack everything of importance to her and get out of the building.

True, she had loved Rome at first but then it became more of a drag. The tourist attractions died down after the first two weeks and she had no boyfriend with her. As always, her older sister would be the one with the boyfriend, this time some weird vampire who called himself the Immortal. Personally Dawn hated his guts and it was only another reason for her to leave.

She grabbed a few shirts and pants and tossed them into her bookbag, along with her diary, a hairbrush, all the cash she could find, and her beloved small stuffed turtle. Quickly she slung the bag over her right shoulder and rushed back into the main part of her apartment where she was stopped by Andrew.

"Woah, woah, sister," Andrew began as he rose from the couch. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked curiously as he noted the bookbag and Dawn's intensely rushed expression.

"Away," Dawn said furiously as she tried to get passed the young Watcher.

"And what makes you think I'm going to let you?" Andrew asked as he folded his arms across his chest. "And Buffy for that matter?" he added.

"I could care less about what Buffy thinks," Dawn said through gritted teeth.

Andrew nodded. "Big fight, I hear you. Happened to me and Tucker all the time but I never was able to run away!"

"Well, that's another difference between you and me," Dawn began as she finally pushed Andrew aside and ran out the door. "Don't tell Buffy where I'm going!" she yelled.

Andrew gave her a confused expression as he watched her go. "I don't know where you're going" he mumbled softly with a roll of his eyes.

Dawn approached the airport in a record fast time. _Guess all that freshman P.E. back in Sunnydale was worth something,_ she thought to herself as she swallowed hard and walked up to the counter to buy herself a ticket with the small amount of money she had. "Where's the next flight out of here going?" she asked curiously.

The woman looked suspiciously up at Dawn before hitting a few buttons on her keyboard. "Los Angeles," she answered plainly.

Dawn smiled, handing the pile of cash to the woman. "I'll take it," she announced and before long she had miraculously gotten a ticket and was seated on the plane. She pulled the turtle out and hugged it close to her chest as she felt the plane begin to move down the runway. "Guess it's just you and me for awhile," she whispered softly.

It was not until the next day that the plane had arrived in Los Angeles. Dawn, thanking her lucky stars that she had been able to fall asleep on the plane, awoke with a short scream as she wondered for a brief moment where she was and what she was doing there. Then she recalled her argument with Buffy from the previous day. "Oh, right," she mumbled softly.

As the other passengers around her began exiting the plane, Dawn took it as her cue to leave as well. She followed the large masses of people out into the main part of the airport. Although she knew it would be pointless, she searched Los Angeles International for any familiar face.

She sighed, knowing that there was no chance of anyone she knew being at that airport. Why would they be there? The people she wanted to see most were at scattered ends of the world. Her father was still in Spain presumably, although she and Buffy had heard nothing of him since Buffy had come back from the dead almost three years ago. Willow was still in Brazil and Xander was off in Africa. She had lost track of her normal Sunnydale friends Janice and Kit before Sunnydale had exploded.

She frowned, walking up to a bookstore just so she could look at a map of what was around Los Angeles. Or at least within a bus distance. She read the places with care then decided where she would go from there. "I always liked the beach," she mumbled softly as she once again slung her bag over her shoulder and put the map back before one of the store clerks caught her looking at it.

The bus ride from the airport had been a long and tiring forty minutes, but none of that mattered to Dawn anymore. She was finally there. Free from everything and anything that had been in her life. For once she could live life as a completely normal girl, vampires, demons, Key aside.

"First time at the beach should be special," she stated as she rushed out towards the sand with the same excitement the little girl in her false memories had at her first beach trip. She smiled, letting the sun hit her body all over. She could get a really bad sunburn for all she cared. She frowned as she began walking along the beach, noting that she was a whole lot paler than everyone else on the beach. "I'll get over it," she told herself as she caught sight of the cute blonde boy a few feet in front of her. He had a surfboard held up in one hand and his hair and body was completely soaked and still dripping water, so Dawn figured he had just come out of the ocean.

Her blonde hottie was arguing with a girl standing really close to him. The two of them were mentioning someone named Sarah a lot and before Dawn knew what was happening, the girl was storming off away from the boy in her direction.

"Callie," the boy said as he started to go after her.

"Save it Bradin!" the girl shot back at him as she ran down the beach.

Dawn moved out of her way and decided she would definitely rather talk to the cute boy than the pissed off girl who was leaving site at a remarkably fast pace. She swallowed hard, telling herself not to be afraid as she walked up to the boy. "Hi," she said weakly.

"Hey," he replied as he looked over at her. "Do I know you?" he asked a moment later.

Dawn shook her head. "No, I'm Dawn Sum--Actually, it doesn't matter. I'm Dawn," she introduced herself with an extension of her right hand.

"Bradin Westerly," the blonde introduced with a slight smile. _Such a cute smile,_ Dawn thought to herself as she let out a short but not fake laugh. "You from around here?" the boy asked a moment later as he moved his surfboard under his arm.

"Um, Sunnydale originally," Dawn answered honestly. "But that all went to hell, literally," she continued with a lame laugh.

Bradin gave her a confused expression as Dawn mentally slapped herself, thinking she had said the stupidest thing possible.

"Was that really lame?" she asked nervously.

Bradin shook his head. "Probably not," he answered honestly. "But I just moved here at the beginning of summer and know nothing about this area other than that its somewhat close to Los Angeles."

Dawn nodded in understanding as her mouth formed a shape resembling a cheerio. "I get it," she said with a smile. "But that doesn't matter. My sister dragged me out to Italy and is now trying to dominate my life, which I'm sick of, so I ran away and now I'm talking to the cutie I met on the beach," she stated with a pleasant smile at Bradin.

"So, you want to come inside?" Bradin asked as he began walking up towards his house. He nodded his head at the house as an invitation for Dawn to follow.

"Sure," Dawn agreed as she began following him slowly. "So, you surf?" she asked as she tried to strike a conversation up. She somehow doubted the two of them could get a conversation about her past and previous hobbies without Bradin thinking she had escaped from a mental institution.

Bradin nodded. "Ever since I moved to Playa Linda," he announced.

Dawn nodded once again. "Um, how old are you?" she asked curiously.

"Sixteen," came the answer as Bradin walked onto his back patio and placed his surfboard. "What about you?"

"Um, almost four, technically," she answered before feeling incredibly stupid once again. Why had she mentioned part of the Sunnydale weirdness she was desperately trying to forget about. "I mean, seventeen!" she quickly blurted out.

"Born on leap year or something?" Bradin asked curiously.

"Someday when we know each other better, I'll explain," Dawn promised.

Bradin smiled at her. "I'll hold you to that promise," he told her as he walked inside his house, stepping aside for a moment to allow Dawn in. "Aunt Ava!" he called. "Johnny! Jay! Anyone?" he asked.

"I'm here," Nikki called over from the couch where she was reading a magazine, which she eagerly put down once she saw Dawn. "Who's your friend Bradin?" she asked curiously. "She's pretty."

"I'm Dawn," Dawn told the younger teenager.

"Andrew!" Buffy yelled as she ran into the Watcher's room, uninvited without knocking of course as she considered this event to be an emergency. "Andrew, where is she?" Buffy demanded, referring of course to Dawn. When her younger sister was not at the apartment the earlier night, Buffy had presumed she had just not wanted to see her so she went to a friend's house. But when she had not returned by the next night, Buffy began to grow worried. It was now ten o'clock at night and Buffy was officially panicked. She had already called Giles in northern Italy as well as a few Slayers around Rome, but none of them had heard of Dawn's whereabouts.

"Andrew, get out of that bathroom and face me!" Buffy yelled through the closed bathroom door. She waited two seconds before banging hard on the door. "Andrew, if you don't come out, I will kick this door down!" she threatened.

The locked gave a small click as Andrew unlocked it. Precious seconds later, he opened the door slightly, just enough so that he could be heard clearly. "What do you want, Miss Buffy?" he asked curiously.

"Dawn," Buffy stated clearly. "You were in our apartment when she took off, weren't you?" she asked curiously as she kicked the door fully open.

Andrew jumped back in fear. "Possibly," he began.

Buffy said nothing to that, only glared at the nerd with an icy cold stare. Her eyes filled with darkness and her face with anger. She then tapped her nails against the bathroom counter once before stating the Watcher's name again. "Andrew," she stated with fury.

"Alright, I was there!" he began as he cracked, his body shaking with fear for what the Slayer might try to do to him. It had been a miracle that he had survived interrogation back in Sunnydale against Anya and Xander. He did not want to find out what a Slayer would do if he pissed her off. "But I don't know where she was going, honest!"

Buffy groaned as she stormed out of the bathroom and over to Andrew's phone. She picked the black receiver up before she began dialing the one number she could never forget.

"What are you doing?" Andrew asked timidly as he stood in the doorway of the bathroom.

"Calling Willow," Buffy said as she prayed that the witch had her cell phone on and that it would have good reception. "She's going to do a little spell for me."


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: _Summerland_ and all its content are not mine. _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ and all its content are also not mine.

Chapter Two

"Willow?" Buffy asked once the female on the other line picked up. She was relieved to hear her best friend's voice again. Although she loved Italy and the certain vampires in Italy, she did miss her friends.

"Buffy?" Willow asked. Her voice was filled with shock and excitement at the same time. She smiled over at Kennedy before pointing towards the bedroom, their secret signal that the call was important and Willow would be in there for a while. "What's up with you?" she asked. "Last I heard you had a crush on this guy..." she prompted.

"That guy is a vampire--" Buffy began.

"Of course," Willow said with a giggle. "Why else would you like him?"

"Hey!" Buffy argued. "Parker, Riley, and Principal Wood weren't vampires," she stated in her defense.

"True, but Parker was evil, Riley was kind if evil and part of the Initiative, and you were never truly interested in Wood," Willow countered. "But you were saying"

"He's nice," Buffy said with a smile. "A nice break from Spike, actually." She stopped herself from droning on about how much she liked the Immortal. Not love, not yet. Probably not ever, but that was besides her point. "Willow, I actually need a favor," she began sheepishly.

"Sure, anything," Willow responded as she reached for a piece of scrap paper and something to write with.

"It's Dawn," Buffy began. "She ran off yesterday and I don't know where she is or how to find her or anything. I've talked to her friends and they don't know anything."

"Standard locator spell ok?" Willow asked.

"If it's not too much trouble," Buffy responded.

"Not at all," Willow assured her friend. "So about this vampire..."

* * *

Ava Gregory walked into her house and over towards the kitchen after spending a nice afternoon on the beach with her youngest nephew Derrick. She stopped suddenly, eyeing Bradin and the female standing right next to him eating ice cream.

"Hey Aunt Ava," Bradin greeted casually. "We're out of mint chocolate chip ice cream," he informed her.

"Are we out of it or did you eat it all?" Ava asked innocently. "And who's your friend?"

"We're just out of it," Bradin commented. "And this is Dawn. Dawn Summer," he added.

"Summers," Dawn corrected weakly. "But that's not important. It's nice to meet you, Ms. Gregory," she said politely.

"Dawn's going to be staying with us for awhile," Bradin added as he moved slightly closer to the girl in question.

"How long is 'awhile'?" Ava inquired.

"Does she play video games?" Derrick asked curiously.

"I'm not sure," Bradin answered. "To both questions, actually."

Dawn smiled as she turned to Derrick. "We never really had video games. It was just me and my sister." She turned back to Ava. "And I'm not really sure on how long I'll be here to be honest. Family issues," she began with a shudder.

"Please, Aunt Ava?" Nikki asked from over on the couch. "She's really cool."

Ava sighed. "I suppose she could," Ava reluctantly agreed. "It's a full house here anyway."

"Thank you, Ms. Gregory," Dawn said with a smile. "It means a lot."

"No problem," Ava responded with a smile. This girl would probably be better for Bradin than Sarah ever was, Ava told herself. "But you're not sleeping in the boy's room."

"Yay!" Nikki said happily as she leapt up from the couch. "She can sleep in my room." She walked over to Dawn and began leading the girl upstairs. "I hope you like the walls. I painted them myself."

* * *

About an hour later Willow had finished her spell. She had written the results down in front of her just to ensure that she would remember them. She then dialed Buffy's number.

"You have reached the house of Buffy-the Slayer who knew no fear," the voice with a super fake Italian accent answered. "How may I help you?"

"Andrew?" Willow asked in apparent shock.

"That is the man you are talking to. The new guide to the vampyr slayers," he said proudly.

"Andrew, cut it out. It's Willow and I need to talk to Buffy," Willow said forcefully. "Put her on or I'll kill you," she threatened.

Andrew shrieked as he tossed the phone over to Buffy. Buffy rolled her eyes at the young Watcher before answering. "Willow?" she asked hopefully.

"Yea," Willow affirmed. "I have your answers," she said.

"Thank you so much!" Buffy said gratefully. "What have we got?"

Willow glanced down at her piece of paper. "Ok, the town is Playa Linda. The closest airport is LAX. I can't get you the exact address, but the town's fairly small. From what I understand you can find almost anyone on the beaches there."

"I'll hold you to that," Buffy said as she scribbled down the name of the town. "Again, thank you Willow. I have to get myself on the next flight to LA, but we'll chat soon. I promise," she added before hanging up. She then dialed the number for the airport and started booking a flight to Los Angeles.


	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: You know what I have to say. _Summerland_ isn't mine, blah, blah, blah. _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ is not mine, blah, blah, blah…

Chapter Three

Dawn smiled as night approached. She had spent the entire time with Bradin's family, both immediate and extended. She could identify most of the people if she saw them at this house, the beach, or if they came up to her first. She knew there was Bradin, his sister Nikki, his brother Derrick, their aunt Ava, Ava's friends Susanna, Johnny, and someone else. She wanted to say his name was Jay, but she would not swear to it.

"So why are you here in Playa Linda?" Nikki asked curiously as she sat up on her bed. She patted the comforter next to her as a signal for Dawn to come and sit next to her instead of on the spare mattress on the floor next to Nikki's bed. "You seem so cool."

Dawn smiled weakly. "I'm not really that cool. My sister's always been the cool one as long as I can remember. Just because she can kill things with sticks."

"What?!" Nikki asked in shock.

"Nothing!" Dawn immediately said. "Forget I ever said that. My sister's just always been cool because of her abnormal strength. She had all the boys when she was my age and I don't."

Nikki smiled. "I think Bradin likes you."

"Really?" Dawn asked. "Not to sound all junior high, but what did he say exactly? Including facial expressions and tone of voice."

"It's not something he said. I just see how he looks at you," Nikki said. "And I think you're way cooler than that other girl he brought home."

"Other girl?" Dawn asked with a hint of jealousy.

Nikki nodded. "She's bad. And she's no longer a problem," she assured Dawn.

"That's good. Don't tell him I said this, but I think I might really like your brother," Dawn admitted. "He's really hot, isn't he?"

Nikki looked up at Dawn with a slightly disgusted look. "Um, he's my brother. I don't think of him like that."

"Right," Dawn noted. "Sorry, my bad. But he is!" She smiled just thinking about the boy she had met. How wonderful. Someone she would just love to show Buffy just so she could see how jealous her sister could get. Although she was probably off screwing the Immortal and would fail to realize Dawn's absence, Dawn thought to herself. "What about you? Any guys?"

Nikki sighed heavily. "There was. I kinda messed things up with him though. I don't really wanna talk about it."

Dawn nodded. "Right. So, um, were you a _Friends_ fan?"

Buffy sighed heavily as the plane landed. Luckily she was able to catch a flight to Los Angeles in no time. The flight had taken a long time but she had landed. She was not sure how long it would take to readjust to Pacific Time, especially considering how long she had been in Rome, but she knew she would get used to it eventually. She sighed as she began exiting the plane,

She looked around the vast airport trying to see if it was still the same as she had remembered it to be. To her pleasure, it was. She smiled, glancing around at all the joy brought to the other people who were on her plane. All of them busy hugging and greeting family and friends. She suddenly wished she were doing the same thing.

She stopped suddenly as she noted the familiar looking figure in front of her. The one man she would recognize almost anywhere. Sure he had broken her heart and she knew there was no hope of ever getting back together with him, but there he was. With the wife, Buffy noted somewhat angrily. "Riley Finn?" she asked as she approached the man and his wife.

Riley turned around. "Oh my god, Buffy!" he said as he threw his arms around her in greeting. "What brings you here?"


	4. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ and all that jazz belongs to Joss Whedon. _Summerland_ etc. belongs to Lori Loughlin and Stephen Toilken.

Chapter Four

"What am I doing here?" Buffy asked as she looked up at Riley. "I think I could be asking you the same question," she said as she, Riley, and Riley's wife began walking towards the baggage claim. It was great to see a familiar face. It was not the best familiar face she would like to see in Los Angeles, but it was still nice nonetheless.

"We're starting up a new mission," Sam Finn answered at her husband's silence. "Ever since Wolfram and Hart collapsed, there's been an increase in the vampire activity around here. A few people at Headquarters recommended that we take a look into it."

"And here we are," Riley finished. "But what are you doing here?" he asked as he looked down at his first real girlfriend. He would not admit it to Sam, but he still cared deeply for Buffy. He needed to make sure that she was emotionally and physically fine.

Buffy sighed as she walked into the baggage claim. "Dawn ran away," she said simply as she looked at the various bags passing by. None of them were hers, for she had left Rome in such a hurry.

"So you're at the airport looking for her?" Riley asked in mild confusion.

Buffy shook her head. "Flight just landed. Willow said she was in a town not far from here." She sighed heavily. "Have you heard anything about Sunnydale in the past few months?"

"There was some battle going on last I heard," Riley answered honestly. "Something against the First and all Potential Slayers were being sent there."

Buffy chuckled slightly as Sam and Riley reached for their bags. She gave a motion that they could leave, so they did. They were walking towards the doors before Buffy spoke again. "Are you serious?" she asked as she looked at Riley. "That's the last you heard."

Riley nodded. "We don't get much contact outside our base," he admitted. "Unless it involves something we need to do somewhere, like the Wolfram and Hart thing."

"Sunnydale blew up," Buffy stated bluntly. "All those Potentials are Slayers. Dawn and I moved to Rome."

Riley's eyes widened at the statement. He did not know what to say. It was all kind of a shock to him.

"Wow," Sam said for her husband. "That certainly is…wow. How?" she asked curiously.

"About the Slayers, Willow did a spell," Buffy answered. "And Spike had this amulet causing the town to explode. All the vampires were destroyed, but so was the town."

Sam and Riley nodded understandingly. The concept was a bit mind-boggling, but it did make sense. "Well, we're not due to start plan-making until later," Riley began. "We could take you to where you need to be," he offered.

"Really?" Sam and Buffy asked at the same time.

Riley nodded. "Yes, really," he stated. He ignored the glaring looks Sam was giving him and returned his focus to Buffy. "So where are you headed?" he asked.

"Playa Linda," Buffy said honestly. "It's on the coast. It's where Dawn is."

* * *

Dawn smiled as she remained sitting on her mattress. Nikki had fallen asleep about an hour ago, but Dawn could not get herself to do the same. She was too excited about all that was happening now, but also too worried about whether or not Buffy found out she was gone. She probably had by that point, Dawn figured. Hopefully her sister was not that dense.

Dawn groaned in her boredom. She carefully tiptoed out of the room and down the stairs. She remained silent as to not wake anyone. To her amusement and slight confusion, someone downstairs was all ready awake. At least Dawn figured someone was because the light was one. Dawn finished making her way downstairs.

"Hello?" she called out softly.

"Hey there," Bradin called to her from the kitchen. He had a blender in front of him with some ice cream, chocolate syrup, and milk inside of it. He carefully placed the lid on it before turning it on. "Want a milkshake?" he asked.

"So I guess you can't sleep either," Dawn said as she walked over towards the kitchen. She pulled up a stool next to the counter as Bradin grabbed two cups from the refrigerator.

"Not really," Bradin answered honestly.

"That makes two of us," Dawn said as she took one of the cups. Bradin stopped the blender and poured about half its contents into Dawn's cup. He then poured the other half into his cup. Dawn smiled at him before taking a sip. "This is good," she said.

"Thanks," Bradin said. "Nikki used to make them every year as the end of summer approached. I don't really know why, but she did it."

"She's a nice girl," Dawn said before taking another sip.

Bradin nodded. "Yea, she's not bad," he agreed. He smiled as he walked over to Dawn. "Wanna take these out on the beach?"

"You serious?" Dawn asked.

Bradin nodded. "Only if you want," he said.

"I'd love to," Dawn said happily as she hopped down from the stool. She then followed Bradin over to the door. "Just the two of us."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Not mine and all that jazz…

Chapter Five

"Well, Miss Summers, it was a pleasure seeing you again," Riley said as he pulled up to the house. "I'm glad to know that you haven't died this time," he added with a smile.

"As am I," Buffy said as she opened the door and got out of the car. "Thank you again for the ride," she said. "I can't tell you how much this means to me." She started to close the door, but she stopped and opened it back. "It was nice seeing you, too, Riley," she said sincerely.

Riley nodded. "I'll give you a call sometime," he promised. "Or at least an e-mail," he amended.

"I'd like that," Buffy said before closing the door. She took a deep breath before she walked up to the house. This was the house. It was large and it looked nice, but Dawn did not belong there. She sighed heavily as she knocked on the door. She hoped it was not too early to be there. She glanced at her watch. Five thirty. Maybe it was too early. She could come back in a few hours, she decided.

Buffy began walking back down the sidewalk, but to her surprise the door opened. A handsome young blonde man opened the door. He looked wide awake. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"Depends," Buffy said as she walked back towards the house. "I'm looking for my sister, Dawn Summers. She ran away, and my friend said she might be here. I'm sorry if I woke you or anything."

"Nonsense," the man said. "Surfing season. Have to wake up early to catch some good waves," he told her. "Name's Jay," he introduced as he extended his hand to her.

"Buffy," Buffy said as she shook Jay's hand back. "Nice to meet you. Is this the right address?" she asked curiously.

Jay nodded. "Sure is," he said. "Your sister's a cute little thing," he added. "Really good for Bradin. He's been in some troublesome relationships, and I think she's someone he could use."

"Well, I don't think it'll work out," Buffy began. "Did Dawn happen to mention where she lived?" she asked as she looked around nervously.

Jay picked up on Buffy's anxiety. "Come on in and make yourself at home," he said. "Don't worry. I don't bite. Johnny might, but he'll be asleep for hours," he added with a small chuckle. "But to answer your question, no, she didn't. Where are you from? I'm guessing not Playa Linda."

"What gave it away?" Buffy asked.

"Your lack of tan," Jay responded simply. "Everyone here tans in the summer. It's almost a town requirement. LA?" he questioned.

"Originally," Buffy said. "Then Sunnydale," she started.

"Well, that's dead," Jay pointed out.

Buffy nodded. "Yea, so we moved to Rome," she finally answered the question. "I really don't know how Dawn ended up here. We don't even know anyone in the metropolitan area anymore. Well, at least we didn't know we knew anyone in the area."

"Interesting," Jay commented. "Well, Dawn's not going to be up for a while. Do you have any plans?" he asked.

Buffy shook her head. "Not at all."

"Well, have you ever considered surfing?" Jay asked. "I think you might enjoy it."

"Is this your way of hitting on me?" Buffy asked.

Jay shook his head. "No, I have a girl. I run a surf shop, and part of my job is teaching others to surf. What do you say?" he asked. "Please?"

Buffy shrugged. "What have I got to loose?"

Jay smiled. "There's the spirit."


End file.
